HUNDREDS MARCH, SEEK JUSTICE FOR SLAIN FLA. BOY

San Diego 
Erika Coyle came to a rally in Balboa Park Monday night to remember Trayvon Martin, a teenager shot to death in Florida. As a mother and a big sister, she felt a personal connection.

Coyle said her brothers, ages 7 and 9, have sometimes been subjected to a stereotype “African-American boys in general” can face when they are out in the community: They are causing trouble.

“I think people see a young black boy, and they think, “What are they doing?” she said.

Trayvon, 17, was walking home in the rain Feb. 26 carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea when he was killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense and not been arrested.

The shooting has sparked national outrage.

Coyle, mother of a 5-year-old girl, said she wants justice in Trayvon’s case. She also hopes the tragedy will get people to better understand and accept each other, no matter what age or race.

“I’m sad, and I’m frustrated, because we have come such a long way (in race relations),” she said. “We’ve got to make a change for the future of our kids.”

Following speeches, several hundred marched downtown to the Department of Justice building for a candlelight vigil.

Some said they wore hoodies in memory of Trayvon, who was wearing one when he died. Many had signs that read “Justice for Trayvon,” and “No justice, no peace.”

Mitchell Sterling, 52 and the father of a 12-year-old girl, said he can’t comprehend that kind of loss. “I don’t know what I would do if something like that happened to me,” he said.

Norma Chavez-Peterson of the San Diego American Civil Liberties Union urged young people “not just to be angry,” but to take action. “Register to vote,” she said.